


Earn Your Happily Ever After

by TheMoreYouSew



Category: Video Blogging RPF, jacksepticeye, markiplier - Fandom
Genre: Angels, Character Death, F/M, Fantastic Racism, Gen, Grief/Grieving, M/M, Magic, Magical Creatures, Manticore, Minor Character Death, Modern magic AU, Romantic Tension, Speciesism, Witchcraft, fairytales - Freeform, spells, will they/won't they
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-12
Updated: 2017-07-19
Packaged: 2018-10-31 00:14:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10887873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMoreYouSew/pseuds/TheMoreYouSew
Summary: You find fate to be unacceptable, so you decide to fix it yourself. Your friendly neighborhood witch tells you he knows a way to help you without all the nasty side-effects, but the spell ingredients aren't the easiest to acquire. Determined, you set out to travel as far as it takes to rewrite your happily ever after, meeting all kinds of creatures along the way.Modern magic AU6/25/17 update: Y'ALL ETHAN NOTICED MY FIC IN HIS "GOOGLING MYSELF" VIDEO I'M CRYING





	1. It's Thin Here

Mark died a few days after Thanksgiving. You were in the car, coming home from having spent the weekend celebrating with some of Mark's friends a few towns over. It was late, or maybe early, about two in the morning when he pulled into a rest stop.

"It's thin here." He reminded you as you walked up the path towards the main building.

"I know," you called back, "But so are Wal-Marts and airports after dark. It wouldn't be in a residential area if it wasn't safe." For reassurance, you turned and blew him a kiss anyways. You'd never admit it, but places with a thinner veil gave you the creeps. You just wanted to go to the bathroom, get your snacks, and go.

Mark was stretching his legs, leaning against the driver's side door and texting. A hand slid over his shoulder and he relaxed into it at first, before the palm was against his neck and he realized it was too cold to be you. There was no time for him to scream, though you did plenty of it. You almost choked upon seeing him slumped on the ground against the car. The creature that attacked him had left no blood in it's wake, only two gashes at the side of your boyfriend's neck and an empty, blue-grey shell. 

You would have preferred something gorier, you found yourself thinking as your initial shriek of horror faded into a shaky wail. Something that didn't leave him looking so... inhuman. You dropped to your knees and gripped his sleeve tightly, unable to touch his freezing skin. You wanted longer to mourn, to hold him, but the fear of the creature coming back forced you to take shelter in the car.

You had to think of something to do. What could you do? Could-- _Would_ 911 do something about this? You dialed the number with shaking hands. 

_"911, what's your emergency?"_

"I'm at a rest stop, I think there was a vampire--"

 _"We're sorry, we can't handle situations relating to undead, magic, or otherwise immortal beings. Please call a Nonhuman emergency number."_ There was a click. Were they allowed to do that? Would you have been brushed off so quickly if you had mentioned your boyfriend-- your _human_ boyfriend-- was dead? They didn't even bother to redirect you or give you a number to call. 

A quick Google search solved the number problem. You closed your eyes and sunk lower in the seat as it rang, wondering if the vampire was still around and wanted seconds. You almost sobbed when the line picked up. 

_"What's your emergency?"_

"My boyfriend is hurt, he might be dead. I think it was a vampire attack."

_"Can I get your name and current location? Emergency services will be on their way."_

Ten minutes, they said. You were numb after hanging up. All cried out now, you just sat as far back in the seat as you could and thought. A plane ride would have avoided this, or you could have skipped the snacks and been back sooner, a different route on the GPS could've avoided this, trusting your gut and going to a different rest stop could have avoided this, or you could have taken Mark's friends up on the offer to stay just one more day.

Your heart went right to your throat when you thought about Mark's friends. You hardly saw them but a few times a year thanks to your schedules. What would they say? Would they blame you too?

Ten minutes later, the responders arrived and found you crying.

The next few hours were a blur for you. The combination of being awake for too long, plus your adrenaline getting all cried out, left you drifting in and out of sleep. It was a police car and an ambulance that had arrived; the officers were content with wrapping you in a blanket and letting you sit in the back of their car. You remember panicking when you watched Mark get loaded into the ambulance, faintly hearing the officer who had too many eyes tell you they would get a tow for your car. It was an hour drive to the hospital. They made sure you were conscious enough to answer questions and identify the body. 

The Nonhuman hospital was less of a traditional sterile-white building and more of a renovated, four-story apartment. Sitting in a chair, watching a medical team calling technical terms and drawing blood and venom and attempting to revive Mark, you realized Nonhumans were a bit more different than you thought.

There had been a heartbeat, someone told you later, and you were correct when you had guessed a vampire attack. But the blood loss, the severed veins, the poison from the bite, there was almost nothing anyone could do. Mark was declared dead at three-nineteen in the morning. With no immediate family, you were the only one available to make decisions about what would happen to Mark, another difference from regular hospitals.

"Can I.. Can I just have some time, please?" You gently nudged away a clipboard full of papers that was being held out to you. The glowing, horned doctor nodded once.

"Of course. I realize this has been a rough night for you. The last thing you probably want to think about is burial options for Mark." First-name basis. Nonhumans didn't have surnames or honorifics for the most part. This didn't bother you. "We can keep him preserved for up to a few weeks while you decide."

You stood up, "Thank you. Um, can I please go home?"

The doctor called for someone to drive you home-- _settling place_ is the word he used. It was sunrise when you left the hospital. Before you left, he had recommended you call a life insurance agent to help you make funeral arrangements, possibly transfer Mark to a different hospital and then a morgue. He preceded every word with _Human_ , capital _H_. He considered it to be the "right place" for you to go.

You sat on the floor for a few minutes-- an hour, probably-- after getting home, not bothering to turn on the light. The tiny apartment you had shared with him meant nothing to you anymore. After what felt like years of leaning back against the front door, you picked yourself to your feet. You dropped your bag on the side table, pulled a blanket from the back of the armchair around your shoulders, and flopped down on the couch. 

The sun was just beginning to set when you woke up. This wasn't healthy, you told yourself. You would fall into a rut at this rate. You should probably eat something. Your fingertips dragged over every surface as you went from the living room to the kitchen. There was a pack of bagels in the breadbox. You took one out and chewed on it, not bothering for condiments or putting it in the toaster first.

Something snapped in you a few moments into languidly gnawing at your bagel. You chucked it into the trashcan and went back to the side table you had dropped your belongings on. You were _not_ going to accept this. Keys in hand, you threw your bag over your shoulder and went out the door. 

There was a neighborhood near you-- a district, more like. A kind of an off-limits district. You had only been there once when you got lost on your way home, and it didn't take long to realize the people who lived there were not your kind of people. It was past your street and then a few more down and you felt on edge recalling how far the walk was. You'd arrive right as the sun was dipping below the horizon and the shadows were getting longer. It was thin. But you knew someone there, and they had what you needed.

The first sign that you had found the right place was when you bumped into a pair of girls rounding a corner. "Sorry!" Two heads on two sets of shoulders and a single torso ducked apologetically, six black eyes lowering their gaze as she went around you. A part of you felt sick and uneasy about whether you should continue. You remembered the lacerations on Mark's neck and shut your mouth tight, continuing on. 

Walking through the heart of the community had you feeling like you were on every pin and needle there was. You saw all kinds of beings who you almost thought were humans, before spotting a tail, horns, wings, or any number of multiple appendages on them. Others were much less subtle. A stone golem with a pumpkin where his head should have been walked by you, arm in arm with a radiant and winged mass of light. You wondered if any of them could tell you were a human. You wondered if that mattered to them. 

You were alone and disoriented, and no one around you seemed to be speaking English. Old, dead languages filled your ears in the form of broken Latin, low wind-whistles of sound, and a high pitched keening that made you feel woozy. It only took a few minutes to realize you were lost. You sat down on a nearby bench, only to leap back to your feet when your body temperature dropped as if you'd been suddenly thrust into a snowbank.

" _Hey_! I'm literally sitting right here!" You turned, but found no one for the voice to be coming from. "Did you not--" Whoever was speaking cut themselves short. A grayish, see-through figure with dead eyes materialized right before you, standing up from the bench where you had just tried to sit. You recognized suddenly that you had sat on-- and _through_ \-- what you could only assume was a ghost. "Oh, you didn't. You can't see me."

"I'm so sorry--"

"Are you alright?" You must have been on the verge of tears. The ghost took you and sat you down where it just stood up from. It was much more tangible now as it placed its hands on your shoulders, possibly because it was more corporeal. "You've got death all over you, dear, are you okay?"

With another look, you realized the ghost was a young lady, elegantly dressed in what looked like 1900s attire. She looked like a dark version of an Edwardian woman with her hair all done up and falling out of tight curls. She faded in and out of opacity, and you got the feeling it was because your eyes were human. 

"I'm okay," you mumbled, "I got confused. I'm lost."

"Well, obviously!" The girl said with a laugh, "I haven't seen a human in this neighborhood in years. Now, where do you live? I can probably point you in the right--"

"No, I meant to come here. There's a shop I'm trying to find, I think. A witch runs it. His name is Jack."

She blinked at you. "Oh!" There was a beat of silence. She looked like she was trying to figure out if you were joking or not, visibility flickering a few times. "I know the place you're talking about. Would you like me to show you?"

You nodded. The ghost took your hand and started leading you through the crowds. Her appearance got dimmer as she led you. After a while, you could barely see her, but the feeling of her hand around yours prevented you from feeling like you'd been abandoned. She was semisolid; your hand could phase through hers if you just pulled sharply. On the outside, she didn't have a temperature, but it was bone-chillingly cold within her outline.

Though she had taken you in the right direction, the witch's shop was hard to find at first. You noticed there were no distinguishable landmarks between the streets aside from the shape of buildings, so you felt less like an idiot for losing your way. A beat after the ghost lady spotted it, becoming once again visible to point it out to you, you had already recognized the tea lights floating two meters off the ground outside the door. You thanked her, and she bid you goodbye and good luck as the two of your parted ways.

A wind chime jingled as you pushed open the door, despite there not being any chimes in sight. Within seconds there was a man behind the counter. He was organizing things on the shelves with his back to you. He had definitely not been there just a second ago.

"Hello?" You called to the man. He didn't turn, arms full of various items that he was arranging. 

"Hello!" He acknowledged you with a tilt of his head, "Welcome to McLoughlin's Magic and Curios! How can I help you?"

You tried to recognize him. The last time you had seen Jack was your senior year, so you weren't sure if you would even notice him walking right by you. Your Jack was short and scrawny, a tight haircut and a baby face. Even just from behind, he didn't look like your Jack.

"I, um... I'm looking for something." You had to duck under a collection of kitchen ware, hung from the ceiling amongst various other things. Vines growing out of soil-filled lightbulbs, feathers and beads on knotted twine, an array of different kinds of dolls, items that you hoped were not bones but probably absolutely were bones.

The man was suddenly next to you. He grinned when you jumped in surprise. "Anything in particular you need?" You looked up to face him, but stopped short. It was easier to recognize him when he was facing you. That was your Jack.

"Jack?"

His expression twitched, confusion shining through that customer service pleasantness. "Yes?"

"It's... do you remember me?"

You knew immediately that he didn't. He stared at you, trying to recall where he knew your face from. "Sorry, are you-- I mean, you're human, right?" You nodded.

"Did we go to school together?"

Another nod. 

In a second, realization flashed over his eyes. Your heart leapt as he suddenly called your name and threw his arms around you in a hug, picking you up and spinning you. "Oh my god! Oh my _god,_ I remember you! It's been... Jesus Christ, it's been like five years, hasn't it?"

Jack put you out at arms length and scanned you over. "Jesus, I've missed you."

"I missed you too."

"You look so different! You were such a dork in school."

 _"You're_ the one who looks different!"

He looked surprisingly more normal than you expected, wearing dark jeans and a plain grey shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Dark bands of tattoos wrapped about his forearms. What really caught you attention was his eyes, specifically the patch covering his right one. You caught yourself staring at him. Jack caught it as well.

"Yeah, it's a little weird, huh?" He ran a hand through his hair. "I didn't think green would suit me, but it turned out a lot better than I imagined it would." It took you a moment to realize what he was talking about. Finally, you glanced up a bit further and noticed the top of his hair was dyed a dark green. You tried to imagine him in highschool with the same style.

"Oh!" You exclaimed, and he laughed, moving his hands to rest in his pockets. You tried to stammer out an apology, but he stopped you.

"It's alright, don't worry about my eye. It's 'cause of a spell I did a while ago." Jack never seemed to stop smiling. Normally, you would've let it carry over to you as well. He seemed to sense your mood and relaxed his posture to something more neutral and less high-energy. "So, what can I help you look for?"

"A spell." You said quickly, "For my boyfriend."

He raised an eyebrow. "Boyfriend?" A coy grin appeared on his face, while you felt a rolling sense of dread remembering what happened to Mark. "I've got whatever you need." Jack led you to an aisle filled with scrolls and books. He ran his fingertips over various titles, pointing out ones that might interest you. "Whole books full of love spells, or a simple little scroll for putting spark back into a relationship. Oh, or I have a scroll with a more complicated spell involving some rocks and candles if there's an ex that needs to be forgotten. Speaking of candles, they aren't just for incantations, they make great mood lighting as well. I offer some that can last for hours, or ones that won't burn your skin or drapes. Any ingredients required, you can find here, whatever you need."

"What about something for raising the dead?"

Jack stopped. He turned to you and furrowed his eyebrows, "I thought-- you-- for your boyfriend..?"

"My boyfriend died. Uh, last night." You stared off to your left. "I was hoping you might be able to.. to bring him back. It was a leap, I guess. I don't know the first thing about magic, but you're the only witch I know of, and I just wanted to see--" 

"I can bring him back." 

Your heart swelled, you almost began crying again right there. "Really?" Jack seemed unsteady, looking past you rather than directly at you, but he nodded. "How? I'll do anything, I swear."

"Follow me."

Jack turned and led you out of the aisles, behind the counter, and into a back room. It was like a darker, messier version of the shop, but it was way harder to see. While the store was at least lit up by what seemed to be a hundred tea lights, there was only one source of light here: a glowing, bubbling cauldron in the center of the room. Jack maneuvered around just fine in the low light, and you stuck close to him to avoid stepping on anything. Books were in haphazard stacks all around you, towering way over your head. The shelves were filled with plants, crystals, boxes, and all kinds of trinkets. Stones with runes either carved or painted on were everywhere. 

There was a narrow hallway off to the side that Jack took you down. Despite having gone so far from the light source, you could still see faintly, and you realized with a start that it was because something by Jack's head was glowing. You couldn't see what it was since you were behind him. The hallway turned sharply to an empty doorway that extended to another, smaller room, hardly bigger than a closet. With a snap of his fingers, an ancient-looking oil lamp burst to life and illuminated the walls in a flickering yellow light.

Jack began searching through piles of scrolls, making handfuls of them float towards him, sorting through quickly, and then sending them off to the side when they didn't contain what he was looking for. After thirty or so, you began to lose hope that he would ever find it. Finally, he took a scroll into his hands after reading the title, allowing all the others to drift to the floor. "This is a resurrection spell." He said, and turned to show you. 

"How much?" You reached for your bag. Jack stopped you and shook his head. 

"I can't sell it. I can teach you the spell, though. But, there are things missing. I know where to get these things, but it's dangerous."

"I can go. Really, I'll do it. I don't care how dangerous it is." 

"No offense, but that's stupid. You can't go alone." Jack sighed and ran a hand through his hair, his posture relaxing. "This is serious, you know. It could go incredibly wrong. Are you sure you really want to bring him back? Grieving is different for everyone, you could just--"

"I want to bring him back. Please, I..." You stopped when your voice cracked. You didn't want to cry in front of him. "He's everything to me, he's all I have-- had. We planned so much. He had so much ahead of him."

Jack was quiet for a moment. "I believe you. And I want to trust you..." He sighed, looking down and away, "The resurrection thing... it's really powerful. I don't want to put it into the wrong hands. There's things you need for this spell that are pretty intense."

"What can I do?"

"You really love him?" Jack asked softly. You nodded and wiped a few tears away from your eyes. "Will you let me put a spell on you? Temporarily. It's the only way I know how to do this." 

You gave him your permission, and he sat you down on the floor with him. Jack fixed his sleeves, pushing them up above his elbows again. The intricate rings of tattoos actually moved around his arm, glowing faintly. You were taken aback when he removed his eyepatch, actually yelping in surprise when a version of his left eye with a green sclera removed itself from its place and came toward you. You could see a tiny, partially melted white candle burning in the now-empty socket.

"Don't be alarmed." He told you, though you were anyways, "It won't hurt you."

"That's... your eye."

"His name is Sam."

You could have laughed. _His name is Sam,_ said so casually. "It's special?" You asked. 

"It sees." Jack said. "Everything. Through things. To things. Past things. It's mostly to make sure you won't lie."

He gestured to the scroll on the floor. With a simple motion, it lifted up and came between the two of you, unraveled. A list of instructions, warnings, and a contract line at the bottom. 

"You ready?" Jack's eye-- _Sam_ \-- began to glow, the same blindingly neon green as Jack's tattoos. A strange feeling settled over you. "Try to lie first." He said, "What city are we in?"

Nothing came out when you opened your mouth. _Cincinnati,_ you attempted to say, then _Miami_ , _Atlanta_ , _Seattle_. Finally, "Los Angeles."

"What day is it?"

 _Monday, Wednesday, Friday,_ you tried. "Sunday."

"Good, good. Now," Jack took your hands and faced them upward, placing his palm-down on top of them. "Your boyfriend is dead?"

"Yes."

"You want him back?"

"Yes."

"You're ready to take it upon yourself to travel as far as is required to collect the ingredients needed, accepting the possible consequences of working with necromancy, even if it comes down to your life?"

You hesitated. You almost expected your voice to not work when you said, "Yes." The line on the scroll shimmered, and you watched as your name signed itself into the blank. Something, maybe pride, probably some fear, welled up inside you. It was then that you realized just how willing you were to do this, to dabble in forces you had never even dreamed of before today. You wanted Mark back so badly it hurt.

Jack was silent for just long enough to make you nervous, looking down at his hands with a serious expression.

"I'm coming with you."


	2. Any Number of Ghosts

You blinked. "What? Why?"

"I know you said you were ready, but I couldn't live with myself if you got hurt out there on your own." Jack said, "I mean, I just got you back... Besides, you've never really experienced magic before this, have you?" You nodded reluctantly and he continued, "This isn't the first time someone has come to me asking for reanimation, so I know what kind of things to expect. It'll only take a a week."

"But I _want_ to go alone."

He stood up, the glow vanishing as he got to his feet. Sam turned away from you and relocated itself over the candle in Jack's eye. "I want to help you."

"You trust me now, right?"

"Yes." Jack went out of the room and you followed closely, remembering how dark it was in the hall.

"But not enough for me to go by myself?"

He turned on you, "Look, it's not like that!" You almost tripped as you stopped yourself from colliding with him. "You don't even know what you're doing. This isn't some rite of passage that you have to do alone. You're going to end up by lost, in the middle of gods-know-where, on your third day of trying to find an actual unicorn horn. Do you even know how to locate an unmarked grave? A seraph's _skull?_ "

You were silent, glaring. The hall was pitch black aside from Sam's luminescence shining from under the patch. Jack sighed and took your hands. "I get it. I _know_ how grief works. You only want to go alone because you want to feel in control, don't you? Because you feel like nothing is really in your own hands anymore? At least let me help you." 

You didn't have a word for it previously, but yes, that is what you were feeling. Your expression softened. Jack hugged you and you dropped your head against his shoulder, mumbling, "Why do you _still_ always have to be right?"

"I don't have to be right! When I'm with you, I just am."

You laughed and pulled back, shaking your head. Jack was smiling when you looked back up at him, all traces of anger gone. "I am sorry for you loss. I wish we could've reconnected on better terms. Come on, let's go get ready, yeah?"

\---

"Here, wear this so it doesn't look like you're just stealin' shit." Jack handed you an apron with _McLoughlin Magic and Curios_ embellished on the front. You had been tasked with going through the stores of herbs for spell ingredients while Jack managed the shop for the rest of the night.

"Only open til' nightfall on weekends, til' two during the week." He had explained. 

"Wouldn't night be the most active time for customers?" You asked. 

"Usually only moon creatures are out at night. They already got magic of their own, most of 'em." 

"So why wouldn't they come to a store that centers around magic, then?"

"Yeah, and why would you go grocery shopping if ye had a full fridge?"

So you were on inventory duty. Just for an hour, Jack had told you. You had a list of herbs to find. Yarrow, yucca root, nettle, coriander were familiar to you. There were more obscure ones, like gynostemma and astragalus, that required you to check the shelf name twice to make sure you had it right. Things like "heart of weasel", "unicorn horn", and "fresh fingers" made you slightly queasy. You checked off what you found, which was a little less than half the list.

You heard a series of noises, mostly buzzing sounds intermittent with clicks, and you turned to find Jack having a conversation with a birdlike creature the size of a child at the front of the store. There seemed to be no way any voice box could make those sounds, but there Jack was anyways, doing exactly that.

The bird was the last customer of the day, you deduced when Jack flipped the sign on the door after they walked out. With a wave of his hand, all the candles outside the storefront extinguished and lowered to the ground.

Jack approached you. After checking off your list, you had spent the last few minutes occupying yourself with some of the trinkets in the shop. You were being mesmerized by the delicately-painted moving landscapes on a paper fan, which changed scenes each time you opened it.

"Got everything?" He asked, hands in his pockets, leaning down over your shoulder to watch the paintings change as well. 

You set the fan down and pushed the basket of herbs towards him. "Not everything. You're missing a lot of stuff." 

"I figured I would be. That's alright, I know where we can go to get more." He took the basket and walked back to the counter. "I'll started getting packed now. I'd like to leave sooner than later, save as much time as we can and all. How ready are you to go?"

"Oh, uh..." You had been following him to the front of the store, but you stopped when he addressed you. "I mean, I'll probably need to throw a suitcase together. If we're gonna be gone a week, I'd like to have change clothes and stuff. And food."

"Can I offer a bottomless bag instead of a suitcase? Easier to carry around."

"Yeah! I guess it wouldn't hurt."

Jack vaulted the counter and then ducked to grab something from the shelves beneath it. He tossed up a drawstring bag hardly bigger than your old school pack. You thanked him and took it, eyeing it curiously. You had seen these plenty of times before, but they still fascinated you.

"If you feel safe walking on your own back to your place," he began, gathering up his own things. He must've lived here, for all the personal items he kept behind the counter. "I can meet up with you by the front of the neighborhood."

You were about to respond when Jack's head shot up suddenly, his eyes wide. It took you but half a moment to hear the wailing sound in the distance. It was like a wave crossing over the neighborhood. As it reached its peak directly over the store, the sound was so disorienting that you had to hold the wall to keep yourself from collapsing. 

It was over as quickly as it began, though to you it felt like hours. You opened your mouth to ask Jack what happened, but he was already ushering you out the door. He muttered someone quietly in a fast, harsh language. "Sorry," he said in a regular voice, "didn't mean to push you about like that. I'll walk you home."

"What's happening?" The streets were rapidly emptying out. Creatures were rushing past you left and right, all in a hurry to get somewhere. You saw some flying overhead, with or without wings, and others vanishing in a blink. Jack kept his arm around you protectively. 

"It's nothing-- nothing bad, I mean. You shouldn't be alone right now, though. It's not safe here for humans anymore." He was trying to be reassuring. It didn't work. You kept your mouth shut after that, too afraid of the answers to ask any more questions.

There was a fence at the mouth of the neighborhood. You didn't see it before. It wasn't there before. It extended far above your head and there seemed to be no gate in sight. Jack led you right up to two oily, shifting Eldritch horrors standing by it. You felt like you would be sick just trying to perceive them. There was only one, as tall as Jack, when you first saw it, but after a few seconds you realized it was impossible for them to be Jack's height, as there was several of them and they were all the size of your apartment building. Looking up, where they should have been towering far above the fence, they were hardly there at all in your periphery. There were two of them. 

Jack pulled you forward again. You shut your eyes as you approached the heavy iron bars of the fence. It shimmered for half a moment, then opened up a spot just the right size for you to fit through. On the other side, everything was suddenly okay again. Normal. You felt cold, night air on your skin for the first time. A car rumbled past. Jack was speaking to you. 

"--you okay, talk to me, come on. I'm sorry you had to... to experience that." You shook your head and the feelings left over from the encounter at the fence seemed to melt right off of you. "Better? Can you move?"

"I'm fine." You said, and you were surprised when it didn't sound like a lie to your ears. "Um... What the fuck?"

Jack laughed, though it was more of a wheeze than anything. "They're called _Guardians_ , capitalized. They keep... uh... everything. It's hard to explain unless you already understand. They're a lot to experience, a lot in general, but they won't hurt you. They're only here for us." You decided you could live with that answer. Gatekeepers, you filled in for yourself, to keep the neighborhood safe when it went into... whatever lockdown mode that just was.

"We can come back still, right?"

"Oh, of course! It'll just be a while. You know the way, yeah? We can gather your things and then head back so I can get my own shit into a bag." 

The walk home was quieter, compared to how the rest of your night had gone. You unlocked the door to your apartment and Jack followed you inside. It was as empty as you had left it. Repeating your actions from that morning, you dropped your keys on the sidetable, then moved to fold the blanket and drape it over the back of the couch. A half-assed attempt at cleaning up. As you looked around, you decided you'd have to move if the spell didn't work. It was too much for just one person. 

"Nice place." Jack commented, taking a slow walk around your living room. He stopped to look at the photos on the TV stand, and you watched his expression change as he realized who it must have been in the pictures with you. Smiling in the cabin of a ferris wheel, dancing at a New Year's party, running across a sunny beach. You turned and headed into the kitchen before Jack could ask you anything.

You announced, "I'm gonna start getting stuff together," before opening the pantry and feeling your heart lurch at the sight of several boxed chicken and dumpling meals. You shut the door without blinking and turned to grab a loaf from the breadbox. You could deal with sandwiches for a week. 

In the fridge, you pushed aside numerous Tupperware containers to get to the water bottles in the back of the bottom shelf. You took the remaining three in the first pack, then the entirety of another pack that had been previously unopened. Two bottles of green apple Smirnoff just in case.

"Yeah, grand! Yourself?" Jack was sitting cross-legged in a barstool, talking on the phone. Noticing him close by made you force yourself to relax. You could think about Mark later. As you moved towards your bedroom, Jack continued his conversation, "I know, I know, but I need a favor."

He was done talking when you came back from packing your clothes up, including a set of Mark's clothes for him to change into after he came back and an extra shirt of his for you to sleep in. 

Jack smiled, leaning back against the island, "Ready to go? Evoles is fine now."

"Evoles?" You asked, a split second before it clicked, "Ohh! Oh, is that the name of the neighborhood?" Jack confirmed with a nod. "Okay, cool. Let me just-- oh, Jesus," The clock on the oven told you it was almost ten, "I'm gonna make myself a cup of coffee real quick. Want any?"

"Nope!" Jack answered cheerfully. "I don't handle caffeine very well."

You put a thermos under your coffee maker and pressed the button to start it before turning to him, "Too much energy?" You guessed. He threw his arms out dramatically, grinning.

" _So_ much energy! Magic just fuckin' goes everywhere, with reckless abandon!"

\---

The two of you made it back to Evoles in record time. It was already dark, so you didn't have the countdown of the setting sun to focus on as you went, plus the two of you talking and bantering and catching up made the minutes fly by. Part of you felt like Jack had never really left, but another part of you knew that this was a completely different person you were talking to. Even if he was your Jack and he still liked you, so much had changed after highschool that you knew you couldn't name a single thing about each other if you tried. 

The fence and the Guardians were gone, much to your liking. You made a note to ask Jack later what that was all about. 

The streets were busy and normal again, and you kept your eyes low as Jack led you through them. Every other step, someone was calling to him, recognizing him, saying hello and good night. No one payed you any attention. You were thankful. Quietly, you wondered if it was considered offensive to be terrified of some of the Nonhumans you crossed paths with.

You were surprised to find another humanoid bird creature at the counter of Jack's store when you entered. "Robin!" Jack exclaimed, and ran forward to high five the creature. Robin was taller than Jack-- though who wasn't?-- and had feathered, winglike, too-long arms with clawed hands at the ends. The feathers continued up to where his hair shoulder have been, tapering around his eyes and to the tip of his nose. Not a harpy, exactly, or anything else you could think of. 

"This is my friend." Jack turned Robin to face you. "The one I told you about."

"You told him about me?" You asked Jack as you shook Robin's hand, which felt oddly like a paw pad. 

"Yeah, sorta." said Jack, "He's gonna watch the store for me and I had to tell him why I was gonna be out for a week." 

"Had to make sure he's not running off and abandoning me with all his junk." Robin grinned as he slung an arm around Jack's shoulders and ruffled his hair. Jack scoffed and batted his hand away. 

"Junk!" Jack looked at you incredulously, eliciting a laugh, "Can you believe him? This place is my pride and joy and he's lucky I'm leaving him with it." He waved his hand when Robin started again, and moved behind the store counter. "No, no, shut your mouth! You've done enough damage! Let me pack my shite in peace."

He back over to you in seconds, carrying a bag similar to yours over his shoulder. Magic, you guessed. "Alright, Robin, ye fuckin' meatball, I'm trusting you. I've got eyes everywhere, so don't break nothin'." You refrained from making a joke asking if he had more sentient eyes anywhere, mostly because you were afraid he'd answer it.

Robin waved goodbye as you left. "Thanks for taking care of my boy while you guys were in school. Heard you kept him out of a lot of trouble."

"Oh, no problem!" You returned with a smile, "I'm sure he kept me out of just as much trouble."

"Well, thank you anyway. It was nice meeting you. Stay safe on your trip, okay?"

The first stop after Jack's store was a cemetery. It was much farther away from the other buildings, and just as populated as any other cemetery you'd been to. Unsurprisingly, you saw more ghosts than anything. "What are we doing here?" You asked Jack. 

"We need dirt from an unmarked grave." he answered, walking along a cobble pathway between headstones.

Monochrome figures floated about you, most barely visible. Many of them were talking to each other or the living creatures that had come to visit. As you reached the top of the hill, you saw just how far the cemetery stretched. Way in the back, the graves thinned out and were replaced with well-tended grass. You saw a lone person with a shovel digging a new hole.

"All of these graves are marked," you told him. Not a single site was without some kind of stone telling a name or date.

"Yes," he started, "but not all the spirits here were buried here. We may be able to find a ghost who was buried without a headstone."

The moon was only rose higher as you followed Jack about the graveyard. You couldn't see most of the ghosts he spoke to, and you'd be lying if you said it didn't make you a little uncomfortable. Not to mention you were unbelievably tired. The coffee hadn't lasted nearly as long as you would have liked it to. 

You heard a voice off to the side, and in your sleepiness you almost didn't consider it might be addressing you. Turning slightly, you were immediately awake and ice cold with fear as you registered a blurry figure rushing towards you. The figure stopped and flickered in and out of visibility until it settled on a form it was happy with. It took you just a few seconds to recognize the grayish girl in front of you. 

"Oh, you're--!"

"Yes!" She squealed, obviously thrilled you recognized her. "I saw Jack from across the way and wanted to ask him if you'd gotten to him alright. But you're here! You look like you're feeling a lot better than you were this evening."

You grinned at how excited she was to see you again. "That's super nice of you! I am feeling better, thanks."

"It's not problem at all. It's so rare seeing humans, especially for me since I really leave too often. I just had to make sure you were alright. Tensions can get pretty high."

You were about to ask her what she meant by 'tensions', but the two of you were interrupted by Jack approaching.

"No worries, Miss Berhow, I've been taking good care of 'em."

"Oh, please, with the titles, Jack." the ghost waved her hands dismissively, "I've told you a hundred times. I don't care if I was born a hundred years before you, we're basically the same age. You can just call me Suzy."

"Sure thing, Miss Suzy." He beamed and gave her a thumbs up. "

Suzy rolled her eyes, but her smile remained. "So, can I ask what you two are doing here? It's a little late at night for your human friend to be out and about, huh?"

"We're collecting spell ingredients, me and this one here." Jack nudged you gently. "We figured we'd start locally. What about you?"

"I'm just on a night stroll with--" If possible, Suzy appeared to get paler. "Oh, _shit_ , I left him behind! I'll be right back!" She took off, leaving you and Jack to exchange glances and chuckle. 

Suzy returned with a rather tall man in tow, leading him by the hand. You knew from experience that it was an easy grip to slip out of, and smiled at the fact he was going along with it. "This is Arin, my partner." She announced as she came closer, mostly in your direction. Up close, you could see that he was more than just _tall_. Arin was about seven feet tall by your guess. He had a mop of brown hair and walked with an awkward gait that you quickly brushed off. 

"Good to see you again, Arin." Jack greeted him.

You stuck your hand out for Arin to shake as you introduced yourself. He gave you a sideways glance, but shook your hand anyway. You found yourself feeling very, very small.

"So what are you looking for?" Suzy asked. "I know this cemetery like the back of my hand, maybe I can help you find it."

Jack answered her, taking a paper from his pocket and beginning to unfold it. A glance over his arm told you it was a scribbled-down ingredient list for the resurrection spell. "We need to find an unmarked grave so we can collect a bit of dirt from it. I've been asking some of the spirits here if any of them know where I can find one."

Suzy and Arin looked at each other and fell silent. Jack began to stutter, awkwardly asking if he had said something wrong.

"No, no, it's fine." Suzy fumbled, "Um..."

"Suzy's grave doesn't have a marker." Arin spoke up. Suzy looked down, apparently embarrassed. He put an arm around her, just close enough so it appeared he was resting it comfortingly around her shoulders without phasing through her. "If it would help you guys with your spell thing, we'd be happy to take you." Silently, Suzy nodded in agreement. 

"That-- that's fantastic!" Jack exclaimed. "Thank you so much! Where it is?"

"West Palm Beach."

" _Florida?_ " You gasped. "That's such a drive!"

"Straight across the country." Arin confirmed. "If you're okay with going that far." When you looked at Jack to ask, you found he was staring right back at you. 

"It's your decision, mate. Your spell." He said.

You considered it for a moment. Jack didn't seem to be perturbed by the time it would take, and you trusted his expertise with magic. He wouldn't let you do anything that would sabotage the spell. Suzy, she had helped you before, so you didn't feel like she'd suddenly turn on you. As for Arin...

You wish you could have placed how he felt about you. A single interaction, but that disdainful look was enough to make you crawl into self-consciousness.

Jack seemed okay with him, you thought. And his attentiveness and connection towards Suzy made you feel better. You decided you could trust him as well. 

Looks like you were going to Florida.


	3. Arizona

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for this one being so short. The next one will make up for it, I promise.

"Mark?"

You had just come into your apartment when you spotted him in the kitchen. For a moment, you thought it was a burglar, and your heart had stopped. But no, that was definitely Mark, dancing by himself to the music playing on his phone as he ate rice out of a Chinese takeout box. You walked towards him and he turned when he heard you approach.

"Hey, babe, how was work? I got you dinner." You looked down at the meal laid out for you on the island. Your vision blurred. A drop of water hit the granite countertop, then another, and another. A lump in your throat kept you from speaking.

You heard Mark shut off the music and set down his food, and felt him take your face in his hands and brush away tears. His voice was soft. "Hey, hey, are you okay? Do you not want Chinese food? I can order something else--"

"No, no, it's fine." You wiped your eyes with the back of your sleeve. "I didn't... I didn't expect you to be here."

Mark pulled you lightly and you stepped forward into a hug. "I live here, don't I?" He said, and you could hear the smile in his voice, and you almost started crying again.

"You do! I-it's just, well... I thought you were dead." Mark had relaxed, like he was suddenly unsure of the hug. You got nervous when he fell silent. "Mark..?"

"You're right." He mumbled at last. "I'm sorry." He was freezing cold, you realized when skin started to burn, cold enough to feel like fire. You ripped yourself out of his grip with a startled yell and found nothing but dead white eyes staring back at you.

It was your scream that woke you up. Jack was already there as you sat up quickly, disoriented and scared, a hand on your shoulder to make sure you were okay. After a moment, you starting to come to, recognizing your surroundings. You remembered.

You were in a car.

It was morning.

You were on you way to Florida.

"You alright back there?" Suzy called to you from the front seat of Arin's mini.

"Yeah," you answered, "just a bad dream." Suzy made a sympathetic noise and reached back to pat your hand comfortingly, phasing through the seat as she did.

"Well, you're up just in time to see Phoenix." Arin said. You sat up a little more to see an endless stretch of road outside the window, low mountains in the distance and a sun just above the horizon. Arin turned onto an exit, and you saw a sign reading "144A" fly past. 

"What time is it?" You asked, picking your unending bag off the ground. For a moment, you just stared at it, wondering how you were supposed to find anything. 

"Six-fifty." Jack answered you, "We've been on the road about seven hours." He glanced at the granola bar you had managed to will into your hand. "Hungry?" You nodded. 

"There should be a few restaurants coming up now that we're off the interstate." said Suzy. "We can stop and get breakfast, you guys can stretch your legs. Jack, are you up for driving? Arin needs to sleep soon."

Arin tried to protest, but she shushed him quickly, murmuring something about him being nocturnal. "I can do that," Jack said as he stretched his arms over his head, as high as he could with the low ceiling. The mini coupe was as nice as any car, but it was still small. Having been out cold since the road trip began, you had the privilege of not experiencing how cramped it started to feel after the first hour.

After a few more miles of driving, the four of you decided on a place to eat. Arin pulled into the near-empty parking lot and unlocked the car. Standing never felt so wonderful, you thought, shaking the feeling back into your legs.

As the hostess led you to a table, you couldn't help but get a feeling of deja vu. You felt like you were being stared at, but when you glanced around, none of the customers were looking at you. At least, not directly at _you_.

None of you spoke very much. It was far too early, and aside from the soft sounds of ice shifting in a glass or cutlery tapping against plates, the rest of the building was so quiet it felt wrong to disturb the silence. Even your server kept a low voice as she took your orders.

It was only a few minutes after you had received your drinks when a man approached your table. Somehow, it got even quieter. You shrank in your seat and buried yourself in your coffee.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," the man started. You stole a glance upwards to see he was wearing a name tag, with _manager_ written in tiny letters above his name. Suzy was looking straight down at the table, while Arin and Jack stared warily at each other as the man continued.

"Some of the other customers are uncomfortable with a, um... Nonhuman..." Arin turned to look at him, almost daring him to continue, and the man squirmed uncomfortably under his gaze. "And I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave."

Suzy stood up, not bothering to wait for Arin to pull out her chair like she had when they sat down. The table was halfway through her waist and the manager looked like he was about to pass out. "I can't eat anyway, so it's alright... I'll be in the car." She phased right through the table and out the wall of the restaurant rather than taking the same path back to the door. You didn't blame her.

Arin was far too calm as he stood, heading to the exit without another word. With his height, it was suddenly obvious to the manager that he wasn't exactly human, either. 

Jack began to leave as well, with you in tow, but the manager stopped him. "Actually, sir, you and your friend can stay if you'd like." 

Jack snapped, " _Actually_ , I'm a witch. So, no, I can't stay."

The manager looked halfheartedly at you. "I'm with him." You said, eyes narrowed. "We can find somewhere else."

You realized, as you left, that it was Suzy they had been staring at.

Outside, she and Arin were talking in hushed tones. She had she arms crossed over her chest, Arin with his hands shoved in his pockets. Their conversation faltered as you and Jack approached.

"You alright, Suze?" Jack asked softly. She sighed and nodded.

"It's... fine, I guess. It's harder when you don't really _look_ human. Let's just get in the car and go."

You climbed into the backseat once again. Once everyone had sat down, Arin slammed his hands on the steering wheel. "What _bullshit_!"

Suzy's hand hovered over his shoulder, "Honey--"

"No, it's stupid! It wasn't a problem until someone--" 

"Arin, you're tired."

"--wanted to be a fucking _baby_. What did they think you were gonna do? Posses them? Haunt the place? Mess with the lights?" He lapsed into angry silence, his grip tight on the steering wheel. He exhaled and relaxed. When he spoke again, his voice was back to a normal volume. "Anyone, uh... have any ideas on where they wanna eat?"

"How about I drive?" Jack offered. "We can hit a drive-thru and just eat in the car, and you can sleep."

Arin was quiet for a moment. "Yeah... That sounds like a plan."

He and Jack switched seats, Suzy remaining up front to give directions. You bit back a grin when Jack had to tediously move the driver's seat almost all the way forward thanks to how much shorter he was compared to Arin. At least it gave you more leg room.

You ended up going to a Wendy's. Arin ate probably the biggest hamburger you'd ever seen before falling asleep. A few of your fries occasionally levitated out of your bag while you ate, and you pretended you didn't notice them floating up to Jack.

The sun was high in the sky now. Phoenix was pretty, you noted. You wondered if you'd ever visit again. Mark would probably enjoy it.


	4. Texas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Note that history is just sliiightly in this universe.
> 
> Dialogue heavy chapter.

Despite Jack's goal of reaching Houston before stopping again, a buildup of traffic and the fuel gauge ticking steadily closer to "E" forced his hand to pull over a few hours early in Fredericksburg. It was midnight when he pulled the car into a gas station. The fluorescent lights of the RaceTrac woke you up from what you guessed was your seventh hour-long nap since Arizona. Yawning, you stepped out of the car while Jack stood by the gas pump, waiting for the tank to fill.

"Sleep well?" He asked as you stretched the tension out of your arms.

You made a noncommittal sound in response. "Do you know how much longer we've got to go?"

"Well, it's been about twenty-five hours since we left, so we're at the halfway point now. New Orleans is our next checkpoint for food. Suzy says it's six and a half hours past Houston. Think you can manage until then?"

"I did bring snacks for a reason."

"Good job." He smiled at you and your heart felt warmer. The gas pump clicked, calling him to put it back in its holder. "New Orleans is fourteen hours from Palm Beach, and that's where we'll find the grave. Want an icee?" He gestured towards the convenience store. 

You walked with him across the parking lot, "Sure thing. The drive isn't awful, is it?"

Jack shrugged. "Not really. Why?"

"I dunno, it's just a long ways for a single ingredient." 

"Aw, don't feel too bad." He held open the door for you and ruffled your hair as you went in. "The closer we get to the east coast, the better, actually. Next stop is Athlone."

"Athlone? Where is that?"

"Ireland."

You stopped. Jack continued walking right by you until he noticed you had lagged behind. "You know I'm Irish, right? I told you we could get the rest of the herbs at my old place."

"You said you _knew_ a place! That's not the same thing!"

"Are you okay with going?" Jack crossed back to you so you wouldn't have continue calling across the store to each other. "I can figure out somewhere else--"

"No, no, it's fine." You paused when an odd feeling hit you. "I just wasn't expecting Ireland. I don't have my passport."

Jack went to the icee machine and handed you a cup. "Oh, don't worry about that. I talked to Suzy, her and Arin know a person in Florida who can help us."

The two of you got your drinks and went to the cashier, a half-asleep twentysomething attempting to grow a beard. "Herbs, man?" He asked Jack, having overheard your conversation from earlier. "You gonna burn them?"

"Of course," Jack said, rummaging through his pockets for his wallet. "We're raising the dead."

"That's what I'm talkin' about, dude. Is the Irish stuff any good?"

"I like to think anything Irish is better, you know?" He winked at you, clearly referring to himself. You were too busy trying not to explode with laughter to notice.

The cashier bobbed his head and handed Jack his change. "I get that. Have a good night. Drive safe." 

You stared at Jack as the two of you walked back to the car with your drinks. "That's so cool, isn't it?" Jack said between spoonfuls of icee. "That we met another witch."

"Jack, no."

\---

Arin was far more on-edge than he had been the day before. You noticed it when he kept sitting back at signs and stoplights to pick at his nails, staring off into the distance. Once or twice, Suzy would reach over without a word and lay her hand on his to make him stop. 

The car drove on in comfortable silence for a while, the low rumble of the wheels almost lulling you back to sleep even though you weren't tired. As you watched the first shades of blue seep into the night sky, you thought to yourself how difficult it was going to be for you to fix your circadian rhythm when this was all over. You turned towards the empty middle seat to grab your bag, intent on getting a water bottle out of it, but stopped when you noticed Jack.

"Oh." You found yourself saying aloud. Jack's visible eye was closed, his face pressed rather ungracefully against the window. It was the first time you'd ever seen him asleep. You hadn't even considered he needed it. With how many days in a row he had been awake, you had just kind of assumed that the magic that came with being a witch negated some of the aspects of being human.

Suzy glanced back and smiled when she saw him. "Well, finally. I was hoping he'd nap a bit during the trip." She turned her gaze to you, "He hardly ever lets himself get the rest he needs."

"When's the last time he slept?"

She paused, considered saying something as if she was going to correct you, but decided against it. "If I had to guess? A few weeks."

"Are there any magical or mythical beings that, like... just sleep all the time?"

"What do you mean?" Arin tilted his head slightly in your direction, acknowledging you without taking his eyes off the road.

You looked away from Jack, "Well, it seems all around pretty different for everyone I've met? You sleep the same amount I usually do, except you're nocturnal. And I haven't seen Suzy sleep at all, or Jack until just now. But growing up, I always heard that magical creatures could survive forever without food, or water, or sleep, and some can even go without breathing."

Arin and Suzy exchanged a glance. You briefly panicked, wondering if you should have chosen your words more carefully.

"That's... somewhat true." Suzy said. "For some of us, at least. Corporeal beings need to consume and rest, no matter what. Sometimes the need is far greater or far less than that of a human's. Greater beings can experience time so differently, they'll spent hundreds of years eating or resting, and then hundreds of years not, because it's so small to them. And, breathing only depends on how immortal you are."

"What do you mean by 'corporeal'?"

Facing you, Suzy leaned over so she was in your line of sight, clipping halfway through her seat. She gestured to herself. "I am noncorporeal. Arin, you, and Jack are corporeal. Angels in their light form are noncorporeal. Most spirits in general are noncorporeal. All ghost creatures are noncorporeal. Being dead, we don't need to do anything else to exist."

"Oh." While she did answer your questions, it only caused an abundance of new ones to come to mind. One of them made you extremely uncomfortable to think of, and you felt even worse to imagine just saying it.

"How did you die, Suze?"

You nearly choked. Your head snapped to Jack, who was awake and looking right at you. The faintest glow was coming from under his eyepatch. He smiled apologetically.

"Good morning, Jack!" Suzy chirruped, seemingly not at all taken as aback as you were. "We didn't wake you, did we?"

"Nah, you're fine! Sam must've heard someone mention food and decided I had to be awake just in case." 

"You're interested in how she died?" Arin asked dryly. Jack stole a glance at you, silently letting you know he was taking the full brunt of responsibility for the question. Your question. Probably an incredibly rude question.

"I mean. Yeah, a bit."

Suzy put a hand on her partner's arm. "Oh, it's alright. I can't believe I've never told you before! It's a long story, if I'm going to be honest, but it's just the sweetest!"

You wondered how a death story could be either "long" or "sweet". There weren't a whole lot of ways people could die. Simply, 'I drowned' or 'I was hit by a car'. 

Or 'I was murdered at a rest stop'.

You stopped wondering. 

Suzy began. "It was nineteen-eighteen. I had gotten sick with pneumonia the same winter that the Spanish Flu broke out. They heard about it first in New York and how it was spreading, and the doctor in town immediately had me quarantined. My immune system was just in shambles at the time, and he knew I wouldn't have survived the Flu."

"You didn't end up catching it, then?" You asked. 

"Oh, no. I absolutely did." There was a hint of bitterness in Suzy's tone. "A full two years later. A month after the pandemic was declared to be over. Cruel irony." She muttered, "I got sick that winter and I thought it was just pneumonia again. But it was worse, it felt so awful. I could hardly move at one point. 

"It was obvious then that I was going to die. But Arin, oh, darling Arin, he wasn't ready to let me go so soon. We'd spent ages trying to stay together, and for _years_ it was one thing after the next trying to keep us apart. Of all the things, surprisingly, this was the one he knew he could control."

She paused, just a beat, and you immediately snapped to the awareness of how invested you had been. You were practically on the edge of your seat if it wasn't for the lack of leg room. 

"He offered to turn me. I would be immortal with him and we could stay together. I wouldn't have to die there."

Again, Suzy went quiet. She was looking off wistfully, reminiscing. You carefully prodded her to keep going. "So... what happened?"

"I died there. Arin tried, he bit, but it was too late for me by then. I was declared dead the next morning. Afterwards, I ended up having such a strong connection to him that I came back as a spirit a few days later."

"A poltergeist." Jack concluded. A strange, brief ripple of emotion that you couldn't fully see crossed Suzy's face. "That's why you can travel so much."

"That's right! Instead of a house, or a grave, or an object or something, I'm haunting Arin. Wherever he goes, I go. It might not have been the way we expected, but we did end up immortal together after all."

"That's adorable!" You squealed. It _was_ adorable, in a weird way that you didn't fully understand but resonated with anyhow. 

"Right!" Suzy squealed back, interrupting your fleeting thought about spending an immortal life together with Mark. "I told you it was actually kinda sweet."

"Wait," said Jack, "so how did your grave end up unmarked then? 

"Oh, Nonhumans weren't allowed headstones or placements in the town cemetery in that time. That's why you see cemeteries in safe districts like Evoles. So they would have somewhere to rest."

"You've been with Arin for around a hundred years, right? How did you guys meet?" You asked, inwardly wishing to turn the conversation away from the topic of death.

Arin and Suzy happily obliged.

"February seventh, nineteen-oh-eight." he said. 

"New Rochelle, the set of _A Visit to the Seaside_." she said at the exact same time.

The couple quickly looked at each other before smiling. You found it impressive, and ridiculously cute, they both remembered the exact details of something that happened over a century ago.

"Arin was a storyboarder at the time, and I was an actress. It was my first big role, and a really important moment in general. The first ever natural-color movie!" Suzy continued, looking into the distance as if she were there again. There was obviously a different element to this story that was making her so giddy that hadn't been said. 

Arin filled it in, "It was important because she beat out Florence Lawrence for the role."

" _Florence Lawrence_!" Suzy's voice went up an octave, then turned to a whinier, mocking one. "The 'first movie star'. The first diva, too! Oh, some of the things she said--!" She huffed. Arin had an amused grin on his face. "We started out acting at the exact same time, but _she_ knew how to ride a horse, so _she_ got to play Daniel Boone's daughter and Edison'n company signed her on--"

"And Charles Dana signed _you_ on." Arin interrupted, reaching over and patting her leg. "Which I personally think is way more impressive."

"Charles Dana?" Your thoughts were reeling back to your high school history classes, all the names you had learned. The Edwardian Era wasn't exactly the most important time period they taught you. "Gibson? Were you a Gibson girl?" 

Suzy beamed. "I was! From nineteen-ten to nineteen-fourteen, I worked with Mr. Gibson and modeled."

"That's so cool, Suzy! Why'd you stop after four years? What happened?"

"Someone shot a duke and began The Great War." Suzy said without a change in expression. Oh, yeah. That did happen. You totally could have connected those dots yourself. "That was around the time we moved to Florida."

"We moved after I came back home." Arin reminded her gently. He met your eyes in the rear view mirror. "I got drafted pretty early. Sent home on medical leave."

"What--"

"Werewolf attack. Dishonorable discharge when they found out I turned. We moved to Florida for some peace and quiet."

"He wrote me a letter every day for the year that he was gone." Suzy said with a little smile. You could have cried. They were too cute.

"What about you and Jack? How did you two meet?" asked Arin. For a moment, you thought he was mistaken that you were dating Jack, and your heart stuttered with a range of emotions as you opened your mouth to correct him. 

"Year ten." Jack beat you to the punch. "Is that right?" He looked towards you for confirmation and you just blinked at him. " _Soft-moor_ , yeah?"

" _Sophomore_ , dummy. We had a few classes together. What video game did we bond over?"

"We didn't 'bond' over nothing, you just started shit-talkin' Half Life unprompted and I had to step in."

You laughed as you recalled the memory. "Oh, that's right! It was like the first time you'd spoken since you moved."

"My hero." Jack drawled sarcastically. He addressed Suzy and Arin, "I lived in Ireland my whole life before coming to America partway through highschool. Parents' job or whatever. It wasn't _too_ bad."

He gave you a hard side eye and you slumped against him like you'd been shot, hand over your heart. "I'm wounded!"

You tilted your head back against his side so you could see Jack's face. The two of you made eye contact for a moment before dissolving into a fit of giggles.

"Nerd. I missed you."

"Dork. You're the one that left."

\---

You knew immediately that you were dreaming. The blank white space you woke up in is what gave it away. You stood up and rolled the tension out of your shoulders. Even while unconscious, the cramped space of the mini was getting to you. 

You also knew immediately that the figure standing a few yards away from you was Mark. His back was to you. 

"Mark!" He didn't turn when you called out. Only when you started towards him did he move. You saw the glint of his glasses and a warm smile just as your hand touched his shoulder. 

Your eyes snapped open, and you sighed when you found yourself looking up at the mini coupe's low ceiling. Someone was nudging you awake.

Through a window, upside-down, you saw the sign for a restaurant that you were far too groggy to read. Jack was there as well, on the inside of the window right above you. You must've fallen asleep leaning against him. One of his arms was slung around you like an extra seatbelt. You groaned as you sat up, and Jack's arm fell away.

"Rise and shine, sleepy beauty!" His voice was too cheery for how awake you were. "Welcome to New Orleans!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> question, do y'all actually wanna see Reader's time New Orleans or  
> bc i could probably skip it and kick em into Florida already


End file.
